Scientific Programme
Exchange Symposia
IS-EX01 - CSSS-ECSS Exchange Symposium – Technology support in Football youth performance progression in the Millennium Era
Date: 01.07.2025, Time: 12:00 - 13:15, Session Room: Castello 1
Description
Technological advances and new methods of big data processing have been revolutionizing training and competition-related measures in competitive football since the turn of the Millennium. Nowadays, the head coach is supported by competence teams consisting of performance diagnosticians, data analysts, sports physicians, nutritionists, and psychologists. This new constellation presents chances but also includes the risk of a non-functional information overload. Consequently, a major challenge for applied sport scientific research currently lies in optimizing information management by evaluating measurement accuracy and relevance of measurements as well as by prioritizing and filtering the information provided to the team. The CSSS-ECSS Exchange Symposium addresses the historical change in the support situation in youth football and takes a critical methodological look at selected methods of data collection (e.g. wearable technologies) and processing (e.g. AI).
Chair(s)
Haipeng Li
China Institute of Sport Science, Competitive Sport Research Center
China
Speaker A
Haipeng Li
China Institute of Sport Science, Competitive Sport Research Center
China
Read CVECSS Rimini 2025: IS-EX01
From the Past to the Millennium Era - Refined Innovation Process of the Performance Evaluation of Football Youth Training
The football youth training system has undergone profound changes from being extensive to refined, and this has been especially notable in aspects like physical fitness, technical and tactical skills, and the evaluation of comprehensive sports performance. In the past, football youth training was still in its initial stage. Physical training mainly encompassed simple running and strength training, while technical and tactical skills depended on the traditional method of being passed down from masters to apprentices. After entering the 20th century, more scientific physical training methods started to be incorporated into football youth training as the sports science developed. For instance, interval training, strength training, and aerobic training were integrated organically, and technical and tactical training also gradually became systematic, emphasizing team cooperation and tactical implementation. By the Millennium Era, the evaluation of physical fitness, technical and tactical skills, and comprehensive sports performance in football youth training had reached a climax of refined innovation, and there are also a growing number of relevant research papers. Physical training emphasizes analyzing the physical characteristics of different ages and on-field positions. Scientific and reasonable training plans are designed by combining these physical characteristics with athletes’ physiological features and competition requirements. High-tech means such as big data analysis and video analysis also increase their investment in football youth training. Consequently, precisely evaluating and adjusting footballers’ technical movements and competition performance has gradually become a hot research topic. This refined training innovation process has not only enhanced the sports performance of young footballers but also energized the development of the global football youth training system. For example, it has cultivated many young talents such as Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, and Lamine Yamal. In the future, as technology and training theories continuously progress, the evaluation of physical fitness, technical and tactical skills, and comprehensive sports performance in football youth training will be further deepened, contributing more wisdom and strength to the prosperous development of the global football industry.
Speaker B
Peter Düking
Technical University of Braunschweig, Institute of Sport Science
Germany
Read CVECSS Rimini 2025: IS-EX01
Data-informed Diagnostic and Training Procedures of Youth Football Players in the Millenium Era
In the Millennium Era, different technologies which promise to support coaches regarding personalization of training procedures with the aim to enhance performance and/or reduce the likelihood of injuries in football youth training are increasingly available. Technological developments can be rapid, and among the most currently discussed technologies are wearable technologies and forms of Artificial Intelligence (AI). While it can be argued that technologies provide benefits to coaches and (youth) football players, not all available technologies are equally beneficial. Stakeholders must cautiously evaluate if, when, and how to employ different technologies (and by whom), in order to select and deploy them effectively to achieve desired, and avoid undesired outcomes. In this presentation, an overview of various technologies and their applications in sports, with a particular focus on youth football players, including selected examples of how wearable technologies and forms of AI can inform diagnostics and training procedures will be given. For example, the talk will focus on using wearable technologies in diagnostic procedures for youth football players, specifically comparing the assessment of VO2max with smartwatches or portable seismographic devices to established methodologies. Additionally, this talk will provide an example of how machine learning can be employed to reveal relationships between internal and external load parameters and its potential for planning of training procedures. The contribution will conclude by highlighting key factors needed to enhance the development and implementation of scientifically trustworthy technologies, partly derived from a global survey, for youth football players and stimulate future (interdisciplinary) ideas for research in this field.